When I began selling real estate in 1989, open houses were generally held from 1 PM – 5 PM.  My open houses were from 1-5 like everyone else, but it seemed like a long time and there were always large gaps of time when no one was there, sometimes as long as an hour. Then a local Realtor started holding homes open for only ½ an hour; each Realtor differs in their point of view, but I prefer an open house of two hours.  I think two hours is adequate and the plus side is that the (well advertised) open house is consistently busy. 


When you are opening your home to anyone off the street there are security issues and often in larger homes, two or more Realtors will be present. When there is a steady flow of people it is hard to steal– yes steal.   How difficult can it be for a team of two to enter the home: one distracts the agent with a question and leads them away from the “scene of the crime” and the other empties the medicine cabinet or ???? When there is a steady stream of activity and the house is full, it is much harder for someone to steal - there are too many eyes watching.  The other issue is Realtor security, Realtors have been killed while conducting open houses,  I feel safer with a steady steam of people in and out of the house.

Obviously a home can be seen any reasonable time; when a buyer is interested and can’t make the open house time span, they can certainly telephone any Realtor or the number on the sign in order to schedule an appointment.  The point of the open house should be for buyers who are actively looking to purchase a home in the immediate future/today.  Yes, today, because that’s when the seller wants to sell it.  Of course it can be an excellent opportunity for home buyers to become acquainted with the market, and if that is their desire, I welcome their exploration during the two hour time span (and again, I feel safer with their traffic).

Of course, during an open house I would love the opportunity to meet neighbors who are interested in selling their home and if this is my sole goal for the open house, the longer time span would be better. But if I focus on my client’s goals, two hours is ample.  And with the 2 PM – 4 PM open house, I have a very leisurely Sunday morning with my family without any rush trying to get to the open house.  In addition to our travel time we also have to place and remove the signs - yes two hours works well for me and my clients.